Ming dynasty

Ming dynasty (English translation: Ming)(1368-1644) was the last feudal dynasty built by the Han nationality in the history of China, and was founded by Zhu Yuanzhang (Ming Taizu) in 1368. Nanjing was the capital at the beginning, and moved to Beijing when Zhu Di became his father.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the national strength was relatively strong. At its peak in the early Ming Dynasty, Inner Mongolia was controlled in the north, eastern Xinjiang in the west, Jurchen area in the northeast, Yunnan and Guizhou in the southwest, and Jiaoxian county was established in the south. In the Ming dynasty, the system of detention center and the system of chieftain and local officials were implemented in minority areas. Later, the national strength gradually declined, especially in the later period, social contradictions were sharp, and even a large-scale peasant uprising was aroused. In 1644, Li Zicheng captured Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself, and the Ming Dynasty perished. However, the Nanming regime lasted for more than ten years until it was finally eliminated by the Qing Dynasty.

Ming dynasty history

the end of the yuan dynasty

at the end of the yuan dynasty, the government of the dynasty was corrupt and the state treasury was increasingly empty. In order to make up for the financial deficit, the Yuan government not only increased taxes, but also issued new banknotes "Supreme Treasures" and printed them in large quantities, causing serious inflation and people's livelihood. In the eleventh year of Zhengzheng (1351), the Yuan government recruited hundreds of thousands of peasants and soldiers to control the Yellow River flood. Farmers on both sides of the Yellow River have already suffered from famine, and they have been flogged by supervisors in river management fields, and their rations have been deducted, which makes them very angry. As a result, "harnessing the river" and "changing money" became the fuse of peasant uprising, which led to the outbreak of the Red Scarf Army uprising.

In May of the 11th year of the Ming Dynasty (1351), the peasant uprising broke out. The following year, Guo Zixing rallied to capture Haozhou (now Fengyang, Anhui). Soon, Zhu Yuanzhang, a poor peasant from Fengyang, Anhui Province, defected to Guo Zixing, made meritorious military service and gained Guo Zixing's esteem and trust. In the 14th year of Zhizheng (1354), Guo Zixing died of illness, and Zhu Yuanzhang took charge of the leadership of the Ministry. In the 16th year of Zhengzheng (1356), Zhu Yuanzhang led his troops to occupy Jiqing (now Nanjing, Jiangsu Province) and renamed it Yingtianfu. Then he captured some surrounding military sites and gained a foothold. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was "limited in land and little in food" and "alone", far less than other rebel forces, and the situation was very difficult. Zhu Yuanzhang adopted the advice of Zhu Sheng, a counselor, to "build a wall high, accumulate grain widely and be king slowly". After several years' efforts, Zhu Yuanzhang's military and economic strength grew rapidly. Zhu Yuanzhang destroyed Chen Youliang in the 23rd year of Zhengzheng (1363), Zhang Shicheng in the 27th year of Zhengzheng (1367), and ceded it to Fang Guozhen, a coastal city in Zhejiang. In the first month of 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor in Yingtian and established the Ming Dynasty. In the same year, he captured Dadu (now Beijing) and the Yuan Dynasty perished.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, on the one hand, reduced the burden on farmers and resumed social economic production; On the one hand, punishing corrupt officials, even if they are royalty, the founding heroes are not soft. He also enfeoffed the prince to guard all the places. After his death, Zhu Yunwen, the great grandson of the emperor, succeeded to the throne. Zhu Di, the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, launched the battle of Jing Nan and seized the throne for the sake of Ming Chengzu. Zhu Di built the city of Beijing and moved the capital to Beijing in 1421. In the meantime, Zheng He was sent to the Western Seas for seven times. He also compiled Yongle Dadian. After chengzu, there was the rule of benevolence and publicity.

in p>1435, Ming Yingzong, who was under 9 years old, succeeded to the throne and believed in eunuch Wang Zhen. As a result, the civil engineering changed in 1449, and the emperor was captured by Wala. However, under the leadership of Yu Qian, the Ming court set up another Ming Emperor, and launched a national war of resistance between the army and the people, repelling the invading Wala army, and the Ming dynasty was once revived. During the Hongzhi period of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming Dynasty, the politics of Ming Dynasty was the clearest. The emperor was diligent but not autocratic, trusted ministers, and the power of the cabinet rose greatly.

When Emperor Jiajing arrived, he believed in Taoism and ignored the political affairs. Yan Song, the minister, dominated the political platform, which led to political corruption and financial crisis, so that Hai Rui called it "Jiajing Jiajing, every family is exhausted".

Wanli years

In the early years of Wanli, Shenzong was assisted by Zhang Juzheng, the cabinet record. In the internal affairs, it put forward the principle of "respecting sovereignty, teaching officials, rewarding and punishing, giving one order", implementing the examination method, abolishing redundant officials and staff in government agencies, and rectifying postal delivery and civil service. Economically, clear the land of the whole country, curb the powerful landlords, reform the tax system, implement a whip method, and reduce the burden on farmers. Militarily, we should strengthen the rectification of military equipment, pacify the riots in the southwest, and reuse the anti-Japanese star Ji, Chang and Bao, the prime ministers of Qi Jiguang, to train troops, so as to make the border safe. The early years of Wanli presented the best situation since the middle of Ming Dynasty.

After the death of Zhang Juzheng, the image of Zhongxing disappeared, and the Ming Dynasty embarked on the road of decline.

Shenzong is a greedy monarch, who encroaches on land and plunders people's wealth. Shenzong also abolished the examination method, resulting in the situation that the emperor sold goods, his lieutenants were corrupt and the party struggle was fierce.

Three cases in the late Ming Dynasty, Wei Zhongxian's autocratic power and Li Zicheng Uprising all led to the decline of the Ming Dynasty.

The corruption of Shenzong led to the emptiness of the national treasury and the border crisis. During this period, the rise of the late Jin dynasty in the northeast formed a local regime opposite to the Ming dynasty. At this time, the people of the Ming dynasty were in poverty, class contradictions intensified, and the crisis of the demise of the Ming dynasty had already formed.

Ming Dynasty perished

In the late Ming Dynasty, the rule was decadent. Eunuch Wei Zhongxian specializes in state affairs, persecuting dissidents and suppressing the people. The rulers continue to aggravate the exploitation of the people, coupled with years of famine, and the people are in dire straits. In 1628, the war broke out in northern Shaanxi, and dozens of insurgents such as Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong emerged. Li Zicheng put forward the slogan of "even fields and free grain", which won the support of farmers. In 1644 (the seventeenth year of Chongzhen), Li Zicheng captured Xi 'an and established the Dashun regime. In March of the same year, when he occupied Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself in Jingshan, and the Ming Dynasty, which dominated China, ended. After that, the Qing soldiers entered the customs, defeated the Dashun regime in Li Zicheng and entered Beijing. In the north, most of the remnants of the former Ming Dynasty surrendered to the Qing Dynasty or cooperated with the Qing Dynasty to fight against the insurgents. In the south, various forces loyal to the Ming Dynasty established several exile regimes, which were called "Nanming" in history, and were eliminated one by one by the Qing Dynasty in the following ten years.

* Zhili: Jingshi, Nanjing

* Bureaus and envoys (provinces): Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Huguang, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi

* Commanders: Nuer Gandu Commanders (in charge of the Heilongjiang River basin-from the west to the Arnon River, Guangxi).

official system

* central official system:

o six departments: official department, household department, ritual department, military department, criminal department, and industrial department

o five military commanders' offices: central military commander's office, former military commander's office, later military commander's office, Zuo Jun commander's office and right military commander's office

o Yushitai. Taizu has a Royal Guards, Chengzu has an East Factory, Xianzong has a West Factory, and Wuzong has an Inner Factory.

military system

in the early Ming dynasty, the sources of the army included the original soldiers, that is, the so-called soldiers from the army, the soldiers from the Yuan Dynasty and the soldiers from the group, and those who were convicted and dismissed, and the most important source was the election, that is, the army from the household registration. In addition, there are other ways, such as simple drawing, filling and collection. In addition, after the mid-Ming Dynasty, there were ways to force the people into the army, but all of them belonged to a minority. On the whole, the health system was still the most important military system.

The health centers are set up to station troops in military locations all over the country. The health centers have 5,611 troops, and there are 1,111 households, 111 households, a general flag and a small flag under them. All the health centers are subordinate to the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army and the Ministry of Military Affairs. If something happens, it will be sent back to the health centers.

The military comes from hereditary military households, and each household sends one person to be a soldier in Zhengding Zhiwei Station. The soldiers take turns to guard in the guard station and station their fields, so as to supply the needs of the army and general officers. Its goal is to raise soldiers without consuming national financial resources. However, after the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Ming Dynasty, it was gradually unable to maintain, the living standards and social status of soldiers were getting lower and lower, and deserters were gradually increasing, so armaments were gradually abandoned.

Therefore, during the Jiajing period, when dealing with the Japanese pirates' rebellion, General Qi Jiguang recruited militia to train in Zhejiang to replace the unbearable guards.

Diplomacy

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, because the tribute trade in the early Ming Dynasty was thick and thin, many Japanese pretended to be tribute messengers to cheat money in the Ming Dynasty. In fact, Japan is in a state of separatism, and there is no unified central government. Many Japanese who come to China to pretend to be tribute messengers are not under the jurisdiction of the Japanese government. After the tribute, they stay in the coastal areas of China for robbery. This is the enemy of the early Ming Dynasty. In order to prevent the enemy, Zhu Yuanzhang promulgated the policy of sea ban.

After Ming Chengzu ascended the throne, during the Yongle period, Zheng He, a famous navigator and eunuch of Sambo, led an ocean-going fleet to the Western Ocean for seven times, reaching the east coast of Africa as far as possible, which strengthened the economic and political exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and other countries in the world, made contributions to China's going to the world, and embodied the heyday of the Ming Dynasty in Yongle. After Emperor Chengzu of Ming Dynasty, his son Zhu Gaochi succeeded to the throne, that is, Emperor Renzong of Ming Dynasty. He listened to the opinions of some ministers in the DPRK, thought that the trip to the West was too wasteful and had little effect, and announced that he would stop his trip to the West. Less than a year later, Injong became ill, and Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji succeeded to the throne and changed his title to Xuande. On the sixth day of December in the fifth year of Xuande (1431), Zheng He was sent to the Western Ocean for the seventh and last time. During the period of Ming Xianzong, a eunuch once proposed to Xianzong to go to the Western Ocean again, so the emperor sent a letter to the Ministry of War to ask for the charts and other information of Zheng He's mission. However, because Liu Daxia and other officials thought that going to the West was a big malpractice and harmful, they hid the map of Zheng He's trip to the sea that year (when they said that they would destroy it), and the Ministry of War's minister Xiang Zhongzhong ordered the officials to search in the warehouse without results, so the matter of going to the West again was abandoned. Later, the Japanese pirates were rampant, and the Ming Dynasty increased the intensity of the sea ban. It was not until the middle and late Ming Dynasty that the Japanese pirates gradually subsided and reopened the sea ban.

In the 6th century A.D., after the opening of the new sea route, the Portuguese occupied Malacca in 1511, and they were more eager to communicate with China. In the seventh year of the reign of Emperor Wu of Ming Dynasty (1513), the Portuguese king sent a mission to China and landed in Guangzhou, hoping to establish diplomatic relations with the Ming government. Later, Emperor China allowed the Portuguese to open foreign firms and build houses in Macau, and allowed them to come to Guangzhou for the winter every year. This is the first time that western powers have officially landed in China and contacted China. The arrival of western countries from the east has brought many new things to China. In the 21th year of Ming Shenzong Wanli (1592), the Pope sent Matteo Ricci to work in China parish. Matteo Ricci and his party failed to arrive in China in time due to the outbreak of the War of Wanli Aid Korea. Later, after the victory of China in the war, Matteo Ricci was able to enter China. Because Matteo Ricci quickly learned Chinese, he wore Confucian clothes and learned Confucian books, which was quite popular with the literati in the Ming Dynasty. Later, he was recommended to Beijing, which won the trust of Shenzong. He presented China with tributes such as maps of Kunyu and the world, chimes, sundials, western cannons, telescopes, muskets, western medicines, statues of the Virgin Mary and crosses. It has been exhibited in Beijing, Zhaoqing and other places. Matteo Ricci not only spread Catholicism, but also inspired Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao and others to learn Western learning. In addition, he introduced various cultures from China to Europe, such as Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, Weiqi, etc., which can be described as "the first person to connect China and the West". In addition, the Ming army used a large number of firearms, and the quantity and quality of firearms equipment were not less than those in western countries, but with the Manchu Dynasty entering the Central Plains, the use of firearms decreased.

The agricultural development in Ming Dynasty was higher than that in Song and Yuan Dynasties, both in output and production tools, which provided a solid foundation for the steady population growth since the middle of Ming Dynasty.

since the early years of the Ming dynasty, the handicraft industry represented by Jiangnan region has been highly developed, which has promoted market economy and urbanization. However, in the Ming Dynasty, the principle of "emphasizing agriculture and restraining commerce" and the strict sea ban policy made commerce suppressed to some extent. With the failure of the circulation of paper money "Daming Treasure" in the Ming Dynasty, the whole monetary system turned to silver. The influx of silver from Japan and Latin America further promoted the economic development of the Ming Dynasty. During the reign of Jiajing and Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, countless commodities such as silk, wine, meat, fruits and vegetables, tobacco, crops and porcelain were sold everywhere. Many foreign products, such as western clocks in Europe and tobacco in America, were sold in China. At that time, commercial metropolises included Beijing, Nanjing, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Xi 'an, Chengdu, etc., and famous commercial groups included Huizhou merchants, Sichuan-Shaanxi merchants, Suzhou merchants, Gyeonggi merchants, Guangdong merchants, etc. In the world, the Ming Dynasty was one of the most prosperous countries in handicraft industry and economy in the 6th and 7th centuries.

The science and culture of the Ming Dynasty developed rapidly. In the history of China's novels, three books of Four Great Classical Novels, The Journey to the West, Water Margin and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, came from the Ming Dynasty. Jin Ping Mei is also a work at this time. Tang Xianzu's play Peony Pavilion is still being performed today.

The development of traditional elegant literature continued in the Ming Dynasty, with famous literati including Liu Ji, Song Lian, Gao Qi, Fang Xiaoru, Tang Yin, Gui Youguang, Xu Wei, Wang Shizhen, Yuan Hongdao, Qian Qianyi, Zhang Dai and Wu Weiye. Sanqu writers include Wang Pan, Feng Weimin, Xue Lun Dao, Chen Yi, Kang Hai and others.

the folk literature of Ming dynasty was very developed, and Tang Bohu was an outstanding representative. Folk couplets are popular, as well as folk songs such as Suonanzhi, which are thriving.

ideologically, Wang Yangming's new philosophy "Xin Xue" prevailed after Jiajing, forming a wave of thoughts against the traditional bondage, shaping a new social fashion, and also making the literati in the late Ming Dynasty have a philosophy of life different from other times. For example, Li Zhi, a "heretical" thinker, is the best example.

Science and technology

Science and technology developed greatly from the early to the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and remained at the forefront of the world until the 6th century.

The scientific works that appeared in this period include: Compendium of Materia Medica by Li Shizhen, Heavenly Creativeness by Song Yingxing, Complete Book of Agricultural Administration by Xu Guangqi and Brief Introduction to Physics by Fang Yizhi. There are also works such as Xu Xiake's Travels, which are precious documents for us to study and learn from ancient technology.

Yu Qian's poem "Ode to Coal" shows that coal was widely used at that time. Ji Cheng's Garden Metallurgy is a monograph of garden architecture.

The military science and technology of the Ming Dynasty was also relatively developed. In the late Ming Dynasty, there were ware guns and powerful artillery. It is said that a man named Wan Hu, sitting in a chair tied with gunpowder sticks, tried to fly into the sky with the thrust of gunpowder, but failed, becoming the first person in the world to sacrifice himself for exploring space.

Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang

Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang (1328~1398), whose name was Guorui, was the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty and was born in Haozhou.

Zhu Yuanzhang was born in an ordinary farmer's family. At the age of 17, there was a plague in his hometown. His parents and brother both died in this disaster, so the young Zhu Yuanzhang had to become a monk in order to get enough food and clothing. Who knows that the monk is not easy to be, and the famine soon made him have to leave the temple and go out for alms. This outing can be said to have a great influence on Zhu Yuanzhang's life, which not only exercised his will and body, but also brought him into contact with some anti-yuan thoughts.

Shortly after returning to his hometown, introduced by his playmate Tang He, Zhu Yuanzhang joined the Red Scarf Army in Guo Zixing. Because of his wisdom and courage, he soon became a confidant of Guo Zixing and took Ma Shi, the adopted daughter of Guo Zixing, as his wife. During his time under Guo Zixing, Zhu Yuanzhang constantly expanded his power and mastered a team that really belonged to him, which made Zhu Yuanzhang easily defeat Guo Zixing's son and gain control of this team after Guo Zixing's death.

Zhu Yuanzhang is not satisfied with enough territory. If he wants to occupy the grand plan, he must have a stable base area, so Nanjing (Jiqing) has entered his sight. In 1356, Zhu Yuanzhang captured Jiqing and renamed it Yingtianfu, calling himself Wu Guogong.